After reading this Disney Princess fan theory, 'Snow White' will never be the same

We all know the story of Snow White: a young, beautiful princess is driven out of her home by her evil stepmother (who is threatened by her and wants all the power and all the beauty —as one one does) and is eventually poisoned and “killed” by a magical apple. Everyone thinks Snow is dead-dead —but lo and behold, the Prince who’s meanwhile had an eye on her, arrives to kiss her and shatter the spell.

The story is iconic, and was Disney’s first movie starring a female fictional character (created in 1937)—paving the way for many Disney princesses and heroines to come. But is the story truly just about the power of true love and kisses?

One Reddit user, Scherazade, begs to differ. In fact, Scherazade believes the story of Snow White is a lot darker than we thought, that Prince Charming isn’t her savior —he’s actually Death. The fan points out two very compelling signs in the movie that might prove his/her point.

The first time Snow White has a run-in with death, is when she first sees and meets the Prince by the wishing well. As soon as the Prince appears, she runs away in fear —kind of weird, right? While Snow was supposedly just scared of the Prince when he showed up by the well because of her innocence, Scherazade makes a pretty convincing case otherwise. Apparently, it’s a metaphor.

Movie Pilot, which first spotted the Redditer’s theory explains,”The fact that Snow White seems desperately afraid of him could be a visual metaphor that represents a narrow escape from drowning in the well. After all, she was hanging over the well just before the Prince appeared…”

The second time Snow and Death collide is when she is saved by “true love’s kiss.” If you think about it, the scene is pretty creepy. The Prince’s kiss, according to Scherazade, symbolizes death taking Snow White from her tomb and leading her to the afterlife —and the giveaway is the white horse she rides, which supposedly has biblical significance (the “pale horse” is mentioned in Revelation 6:8). Movie Pilot adds, “this might also explain why Snow White is seen saying goodbye to the dwarfs like she is never going to see them again.” Seriously, why else would she ditch them? Just because she’s hooked up with a dude? Not cool, Snow. This theory would actually give her a good explanation.

And after the Prince kisses Snow and “saves” her, they ride off into the sunset…Which looks a lot like “heaven” or at least, a very similar depiction of it (it’s supposed to be the Prince’s castle). Yikes.

This isn’t the only Snow White theory that’s gained traction. A Tumblr user wrote about Tangled’s Mother Gothel and the Evil Queen (when she’s disguised as the old woman) suspiciously similar attributes. Not only do they look alike, but the knife Mother Gothel has looks like the dagger the Evil Queen gave to the huntsman. So who is the old woman in Snow White? An aged Mother Gothel (who couldn’t have Rapunzel’s hair to keep her youthful!).

Even if the theories are just theories, we’ll never be able to watch Snow White the same way again.